Home » Women in Business Articles » Women's Business Development Center to Honor Entrepreneurs, Advocates and Corporate Representatives at 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman's Conference
Women's Business Development Center to Honor Entrepreneurs, Advocates and Corporate Representatives at 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman's Conference
Successful female entrepreneurs and supporters of women's economic development to be honored
CHICAGO, IL, September 06, 2011 /Women in Business PR News/ -- The Women's Business Development Center (WBDC) will honor successful female entrepreneurs as well as supporters of women's economic development at its 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman's Conference on Wednesday, September 14, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Chicago's McCormick Place-West, 2301 S. Indiana Ave.
The awards will be presented at the 25th Anniversary Hall of Fame Awards Luncheon, emceed by NBC 5 news anchor Allison Rosati, at 12 noon. This year's award recipients are:
• 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year - Sharon Hoffman Avent, president and CEO, Smead Manufacturing Company
• 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year - Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) Success, Marilyn Jones, founder and president, Consolidated Printing Company
• 25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year - Rising Star, Teresa Ging, founder and president, Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique, Inc.
• 25th Anniversary Advocacy Award - U.S. Small Business Administration
• 25th Anniversary Corporate Support Award - Bank of America
About the award winners:
25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year: Sharon Hoffman Avent, president and CEO, Smead Manufacturing Company
Avent joined the family-owned firm - a privately held, award-winning leader in office filing products and records management solutions - in 1965 and held a wide variety of roles throughout the years. In 1998 she was named president and CEO, succeeding her mother as the third generation of the Hoffman family to lead the company. For more than 100 years, Smead Manufacturing has brought a spirit of innovation and integrity to keeping businesses and home offices organized. Smead, a WBENC certified WBE, is recognized as one of the largest privately-held and women-owned companies in the country. A recipient of numerous awards and accolades for her business acumen and philanthropic efforts, in 2003, Avent was the first woman to be presented with the Spirit of Life Award given by the National Office Products Council for the City of Hope, a world-renowned cancer research and treatment facility in California.
25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year - Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) Success, Marilyn Jones, founder and president, Consolidated Printing Company
Jones, dubbed the "mother of green printing" for leading the way in the printing industry's efforts to become environmentally responsible, has been the proud founder and president of the Chicago-based printing company since its inception in 1973, and has proven that a small business can achieve monumental results. Recognized as the first Illinois Great Printer in 1996 by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Consolidated Printing has received nearly every environmental award a company can receive, including awards from four Illinois Governors, Mayor Daley, and the Chicago Department of the Environment. Jones' entrepreneurial spirit combined with a concern for the health of others drove her to pursue the elimination of all toxic and carcinogenic chemicals from her company's printing process since its inception and long before green was a common household term. Little did she know that goal would become the back-drop to a thirty-five year effort to create the greenest printing company in America. In 2008, the Printing Industry of America recognized Marilyn and Consolidated Printing with its highest environmental award.
25th Anniversary Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year - Rising Star: Teresa Ging, founder and president, Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique, Inc.
With a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago in Economics and Statistics and a six-plus year career in finance, Ging left her promising career to pursue her true passion and enrolled in the Patisserie Program at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France. When she returned to Chicago she set out to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams. In October 2007 Ging launched the catering and delivery side of her business with over 20-plus flavors in the Sugar Bliss cupcake collection. Soon after, she came to the WBDC seeking assistance with the launch of her retail location, and in January 2009 her entrepreneurial dreams became a reality with the successful launch of her first Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique retail location in downtown Chicago's Loop. Ging will open a second retail location in October 2011 in Chicago's River North area. A dedicated supporter of women's economic empowerment, she is the recipient of the Chicago Women Making History Award and Best New Business in 2010 from the City of Chicago Treasurer's Office.
25th Anniversary Advocacy Award - U.S. Small Business Administration
The Women's Business Development Center (WBDC) is proud to honor the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) with this award for their precedence-setting new Women Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program (WOSB) and their ongoing commitment to the advancement of women and minority-owned businesses. The new WOSB Program serves as one of the most important pieces of legislation for women business owners to date. Launched in February 2011, this new program enables contracting officers to set aside certain contracts for competition among WOSBs or EDWOSBs (Economically Disadvantaged Women Owned Small Businesses) for the provision of goods and services to the Federal Government. Additionally, the Program provides procuring agencies a tool to help meet their WOSB contracting goal of 5% of prime contracting dollars being awarded to WOSBs. Accepting the award on behalf of the SBA will be Marianne Markowitz, regional administrator, Midwest region.
25th Anniversary Corporate Support Award - Bank of America
The Women's Business Development Center (WBDC) is proud to honor Bank of America with this award for their ongoing commitment to the advancement of women and minority-owned businesses through access to capital, access to opportunities, and community economic development across the country. Bank of America has proudly supported the efforts of the WBDC and its Entrepreneurial Woman's Conference since 1988. Accepting the award on behalf of Bank of America will be Tim Maloney, Illinois state president.
In addition to the awards luncheon, Conference attendees will benefit from advice and networking in several other ways:
• Women's Business & Buyers Mart offering face time with more than 200 corporate and government representatives who are committed to purchasing products and services from women-owned businesses
• Contract Connections pre-arranged one-on-one meetings between certified Women's Business Enterprises (WBEs) and corporate and government purchasing decision-makers
• Women's Forum Breakfast, moderated by Chicago Sun-Times syndicated financial columnist, finance expert and best-selling author Terry Savage, will feature several prominent entrepreneurs sharing the trials and tribulations of running a successful business. This year's Women's Forum panelists are: Leylani Cardoso, of Bolzano Handbags; Maxine Clark, of Build-A-Bear Workshop; Cathy Hughes, of Radio One; and Lynn Tilton, of Patriarch Partners
• Workshops and roundtable discussions with practical advice from business experts addressing the current issues facing women business owners today
• The WBDC's 25th Anniversary Celebration, to be held the early evening of September 14, immediately following the day's activities
For more information or to register online, visit www.WBDC.org or call (312) 853-3477, ext. 240.
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